The Family of Eight

The Love Story Part 2

NOTE: Thank you Rosella6199 for beta reading this chapter. You really are the best beta anyone could ask for ;)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy tail, Hiro Mashima does


Dinner was finally finished, and everyone was gathering in the living room. They left the windows open to let in the cool breeze and when everyone was comfortable and seated on the floor, Jellal took his place on the couch.

He felt like an old man telling stories to his grandchildren. He heaved a sigh of relief and smiled as he leaned back. "Well, are you ready?"

"No more stalling!" Kaiya whined along with Layla.

Gerard rolled his eyes. "We've been waiting for too long already."

Jellal laughed. "Okay, okay. So here we go…"

He forgot how to breathe.

She was wearing a hot pink ball gown, her hair tied in a bun. She looked just like when she was still living with her father—all dolled up and fancy. Her eyes sparkled with grace and she was smiling. But she wasn't all elegant and nice like a princess should be. She was reciting Urano Metoria to destroy the floating weapons Erza had summoned earlier.

He couldn't tear his gaze away.

The stars fell on the swords and one by one they shattered. The weapons happened to be made out of magic, so when they broke, they exploded into tiny stars. When Lucy was finished, she called out her spirit Virgo. In a flash, she changed into new attire: a red backless dress that clung to her body. Together with her spirit, they bowed and the crowd screamed at her to do more.

At last, he released the breath he held and closed his eyes. He could still picture her smile—it was real this time.

She was finally over Natsu.

"Awww!" Layla cooed, grinning like an idiot. "Isn't that adorable."

"Sickeningly so," Gerard mumbled. Though he said that, there was a faint tint of pink on his cheeks.

Jellal chuckled and clasped his hands in front of him, his eyes softening as memories resurfaced. "She really was beautiful… just like a princess."

The parade was finally over and Jellal watched Lucy talk with her friends. He wanted to chat with her, even if it was just for a while. He still had questions that he wanted to be answered and he had been waiting for too long to waste this chance.

Silently, he willed Lucy to look up, to see him on the roof. And miraculously, she did.

Her eyes widened as she saw him and at that moment, he raised his hand and with his magic, formed an image of the park.

Her face broke into a smile.

With a whisper, he used meteor to get to the park in time. He leaned against the tree and waited patiently for the blonde. He took in deep breaths and tried to calm down. His heart was beating faster and faster, hammering and pounding inside his chest. He could hear every thud in his ears, and felt colder and colder as seconds ticked by.

Finally, he was going to talk to Lucy. The excitement and anticipation was unbearable even as he tried to stay still. But he couldn't, so he sat down on a bench.

He had been thinking for a while what to say to her. She was a bit hard to approach with their situation, and even though Erza was his girlfriend, he couldn't ask her about Lucy because that would be weird. He had a couple questions in mind, but he didn't know which to ask.

"Hey Jellal! Been a while!"

Startled, he turned his head to find Lucy walking towards him. He flushed as he realized she was still wearing the backless dress, and he cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness that he felt. "It has been a while."

She sat beside him and grinned. "I didn't know you'd watch Fantasia."

He shrugged. "Erza told me to come."

"I see," she hummed, smiling—always smiling. "So, is there a reason why we're here?"

"Well… I…"

"What a wimp, dad," Meiko said, moaning. "Why can't you just tell her how you feel?"

Reina snickered. "It's cause he was still dating Aunt Erza at that time and was probably afraid he'd die a slow death."

Jellal winced. "Well… that may have something to do with it but things were really complicated back then."

Jude laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Just continue the story."

"Fine."

"Well?"

He nibbled on his bottom lip and finally gathered up to courage to speak. "For starters… why were you staying at Oshibana five months ago?"

He saw her eyes widen in shock and pain, as if she recalled everything that happened. He almost felt bad he asked, but he was desperate for an answer. And surprisingly, she gave him that.

"I… needed to get away."

He didn't say anything.

"I think it's because seeing them every day felt like torture," she whispered softly. "I didn't want to go through that."

He could hear her clearly under the rustling of the leaves. From the corner of his eye, he could see her clenching her fists tightly, her eyebrows furrowed. He forced himself to avert his gaze, quietly listening to the distant sound of music playing.

"I'm glad you were there that day."

A pause.

"You saved me."

He looked at her, like really looked at her, and drew in a sharp breath. He wanted to say something, but Lucy cut him off.

"Thank you."

He looked away, his throat clogged up. He wanted to tell her that it was all right, and he wanted to ask her what help did he give her. But the questions in his mind vanished, and he swallowed thickly. He knew that now was not the time to ask her for more answers. He'd ask her again next time, whenever they'd meet again.

In a moment, she was chuckling.

"I'll be going now," she told him, standing up to leave. He didn't stop her, and didn't look at her. He waited until the crunching of grass was gone, and waited until the night was silent. He sat there until all the lights went out, until there was no one left in the park except for him. And only then did he close his eyes and finally left.

There was a deafening silence as Jellal stopped talking for a while, staring at the floor with a longing look on his face. Layla and Jude stared at their father worriedly while Meiko and Reina whispered to each other about the sudden quietness. Kaiya was talking to Gerard openly about how Jellal should have just kissed her. The comment almost made them laugh.

Jellal sighed. "There are days where I regret ever asking her that question. She sounded so devastated and it was horrible."

"But it's over now, father," Jude said, smiling. "It's over."

The head of the family chuckled and nodded. "It is." He passed a hand over his forehead and blinked his sleepy eyes. "You know, your mother always got into trouble."

"I expected as much," Layla commented, stifling a laugh.

Kaiya giggled. "Mommy tends to do that on missions."

Jellal laughed with them. "She does get into a lot of trouble. Lucy and I didn't meet again after a year since our encounter at Fantasia. Erza and I still went out, but I never saw her again. Erza would mention her sometimes whenever she was talking about Team Natsu, but most of the time she'd talk about cake and weaponry and armory… there's no Lucy."

Meiko frowned. "Then what happened?"

"We set our sights on dark guild, Meredy and I, and found out that they were holding a mage captive."

"Spit it out, fairy!"

Jellal and Meredy looked at each other worriedly as they stood beside the window. The dark guild, Vengeance, was holding a mage captive. Crime Sorcière decided long ago that they were going to get rid of the guild, but due to other events, couldn't.

The pinkette next to him whispered, "They have a Fairy Tail mage as their captive?"

"I wasn't expecting that," he mumbled back. Fairy Tail was a destructive guild, and it seemed almost impossible to get a hold of one of their members.

What happened?

"Tell me where the jade is!"

There was a sudden silence, and then a chuckle. "I'm not telling you anything. I don't even know what you're talking about, and if I did, why would I tell you?"

Jellal's eyes widened. "That voice…"

Meredy blinked, looking at him with a confused look on her face. "Jellal?"

"Would you rather be killed then, Lucy Heartfilia?"

He sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening further. He was right! It was her! But why was she held captive at the base of Vengeance?

"Kill me if you want to," she said confidently, her voice steady. "That way, the secret is buried with me."

Jellal gritted his teeth, grasping Meredy's shoulder. "We have to save her… now!"

She bit her lip and shook her head. "Not now!" she whispered loudly.

"Now, Meredy!"

"Just a few more seconds, please!"

Jellal closed his eyes shut and held back. He wanted to burst in the room and kill whoever kidnapped Lucy. But Meredy was right—they had to wait.

"We'll kill you, alright."

Jellal clenched his fists tighter.

"But first… we're going to have fun."

Jude blinked, staring at his father's shaking figure. He was furious, that much was obvious. It was so astonishing to see him in anger, as he was always the type to be calm and collected. But he was—

"Daddy?"

Jellal released his death-grip on the couch's arm rest and relaxed. "Yes, Kaiya?"

"What will happen next?"

He let out a tired laugh and continued the story.

The double doors to the room were slammed open and the people inside started to get into their fighting stance. Lucy lifted her head, her eyes hazy as she tried to see through the smoke and dust. It was getting harder for her to stay conscious, especially with the enemy's hand on her neck. The girl, whoever she was, had the power to make her feel like she was in pain. And she was also the one who kidnapped her.

Lucy felt her consciousness dropping further and further, trying to shake away the girl's hand. If this continued, her magic would be sucked away.

"Lucy!"

Her body shuddered, turning her head to the direction of the voice.

Her eyes widened. "That voice…"

The smoke cleared and she held her breath.

"Jellal…?"

"Idiot!"

She blinked, startled as she saw Jellal speeding towards her. Someone, a pinkette, was fending off the dark guild while he headed towards her. She opened her mouth to warn him about the girl behind her but before she could, Jellal's face twisted in anger and extended his hand, light pouring out of his palm. Lucy felt the hand on her neck slip away as the girl fell to the floor.

She stared into Jellal's eyes and the hair on her nape rose. He looked so mad.

"Idiot…"

She stayed quiet while he broke the cuffs on her wrists. Wordlessly she stood up and then fell forward, landing straight into his arms. She laughed apologetically. "Sorry… I… can't stand."

He held her close to him, fearing that if he let her go, she would disappear. He clenched his jaw. "Troublesome—you're so troublesome."

"You always save me anyway," she breathed out, her eyes shutting close. "Just… like… Natsu…"

Jellal furrowed his eyebrows and fisted his hands, hoisting Lucy on his back. She automatically clasped her hands around him and he shifted her. "I only saved you twice, and I still don't know how I saved you the first time. And never compare me to Natsu," he said, growling. "I'm not a scumbag like him who cheated on you."

She froze. "How did you…"

"Erza told me."

She remained silent then sighed, the tension easing off her shoulders. "He told me he was just… confused about the differences of love for a friend and love for a lover. He loved me as a comrade, but he loved Lisanna as a woman."

He pursed his lips and listened to her next words.

"To be honest, I'm already over it. I just… I just wish he told me sooner so that the pain would be… would be…" she broke off and sobbed into his shoulder, hiccups escaping her lips. "He may have loved me only as a friend, but I loved him more than that and—and it hurts. And I know it's been more than a year since that happened, and that I should be over this but… it just…"

"Shh."

Lucy cried and dismissed the chaos ensuing behind them, listening to Jellal's voice. "I'm here, okay? Forget about Natsu for now. Okay?"

She sniffed. "Okay."

"We defeated the guild and I treated Lucy's wounds at our hideout. It turned out they were looking for something that they knew was hidden in Fairy Tail, but it was actually in Lucy's possession. They tortured her for a bit by draining her magic and punching her gut, but other than that, there was no slash or cut on her skin. She was actually very happy that she didn't gain any scars at all," Jellal said, laughing at the end.

"Did she finally move on afterwards?" Gerard asked, casually supporting his weight with his arms as he leaned back.

Jellal nodded. "She did."

"Then what happened?" Layla asked, frowning.

"I don't know."

Their jaws dropped, eyes going as wide as saucers as Jellal laughed. "What?"

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Gerard exclaimed, flushing as everyone's stares landed on him. He looked away. "I m-mean… you can't just say that."

"Well… I kind of forgot," their father said and grinned sheepishly. "I'll try to remember it though as I'm going to sleep. For now, it's time for bed."

Layla groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "But it's too early for bed!"

Jellal sighed. "Will you promise you'll go to bed if I tell you what happened next?"

"You mean everything?" Jude questioned, raising a brow.

The father twitched. "No, I mean what happened on a certain amount of time. We didn't just get together afterwards anyway. Plus, I was still with Erza."

Reina guffawed. "After all that, you were still with Aunt Erza? Wow, you must be some kind of sick boyfriend then."

Meiko laughed as well and leaned into his twin. "You said it."

Jellal felt a vein throbbing on his cheek. "Do you want to know what happens next or not?"

"Aye!"

He heaved a sigh. "Well… I guess we can say that she moved on with her life and so did I. But fate wasn't as cruel as we thought in the end."

2 years. For 2 cruel years he had not seen her. Not even a glimpse of her hair, or a murmur of her voice, not even a word of her name. Erza rarely mentioned her, and she seemed much more hostile these days. He didn't know why, but she got angry easier, and she often ended up destroying things wherever they went. He didn't want to ask if it was connected to Lucy because that would seem too suspicious and not to mention a downer.

He went to Magnolia once for a mission, but it was quick, and he didn't even see her. He passed by Fairy Tail, tried to sense her magic, but it wasn't there. He had a feeling he was unlucky and she was out on a mission, or in the worst case scenario, was gone. Gone as in dead. But he didn't want to be pessimistic, so he ignored the fact that for two long years, in which they did not speak nor see each other.

Two years felt like forever to him. It felt as if time itself stopped moving, and though he kept doing missions to get his mind off the matter, it was temporary. He'd be relieved of the devastation, but it'd return as soon as he was free from jobs. He wanted to talk to her. Just seeing her was enough, but nothing happened.

Nothing.

Jellal went silent for a while, staring at the ceiling with distant eyes. His children looked at him worriedly. "Daddy?" Kaiya whispered gently.

He snapped out of his daze and smiled. "Ah, right, right…"

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally saw her again. But their meeting wasn't as nice as how he pictured it in his head. He daydreamed of seeing her laughing and smiling at him, talking as if the two year absence never happened. But no—she looked terrible.

Her eyes were bloodshot, lips cracked, skin bruised, pale—she looked as if she was barely breathing.

"Lu…cy?"

She didn't move or utter, but the glimmer in her eyes told him she was listening.

"What happened?"

First, a sob escaped her lips. Next, he hugged her. He knew they were in public—they were right in front of her guild. But he wanted her to know that whatever she was going through, she was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry…"

He bit his lip. "Why are you apologizing? What did you do to me?"

"Not to you." Her voice sounded eerie, like a hoarse throat. "To your girlfriend."

His eyes widened and he pulled back. He held her shoulders, searching for her eyes. "What do you mean? What did you do to Erza?"

The events that happened next were a blur to him even now. She was breathing faster and heavier, as if she was going into cardiac arrest. Her eyes were darting around the place, avoiding his gaze, pushing him away. He called her name, but his voice fell on deaf ears and before he knew it, she was running away.

He was about to run after her, but he was stopped.

"Jellal."

He knew that voice well, and somehow, he didn't feel guilty that he was seen hugging someone else.

"Jellal."

He turned to her. "What happened to Lucy?"

Erza's eyes saddened and she threw her head back, eyes casted upwards at the blue sky. "Lucy…" she paused, and that pause caused a jolt of fear in Jellal's heart.

"She wants to kill herself."

Jellal laughed softly and stood up from his couch. "I've told you what I can tell you for now. I can't bear telling all of you this in one day, because it's a lot to take in and the emotions are… heavy."

No one said anything against that. This time, they quietly went into their rooms, leaving the father falling back into his chair as he wiped the dread away from his eyes.


A/N: Before you guys go on writing down ways to kill me, relax and let me tell you first to leave a review if you liked the chapter. If you have any questions, please leave them in your review.

Okay I am scared for life now.

"Bring me to life."

Byee! -Anne :D


- Please support/read my other stories: Celebrity Issues, The Devil and the Assassin, Fragile, Life's Challenges, Forgotten Memories, Queen of Stars, A Love That Lasts Forever and Going Against The Current.